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In 2009 the monthly Herald published the results of an elaborate survey that it undertook to determine the extent of anti-Americanism in Pakistan. The findings suggest nothing that we do not already know.

Though anti-Americanism during the Cold War (1949-89) was mostly the ideological vocation of pro-Soviet leftists, today (some twenty years after the collapse of the Soviet Union), one can safely suggest that America is experiencing its most detested hour.

It hasn’t been hated across the board with so much fervour as it is today, mainly thanks to the bungling of the arrogant Bush administration and its utter deficiency in the art and skill of empathetic and prudent diplomacy.

However, the anti-Americanism virus — at least in most Muslim countries — today is such that the critique that comes with it is largely rhetorical and at times, rather obsessive-compulsive.

Take for example the ‘debate’ that took place on Pakistan’s electronic media over the Kerry-Lugar Bill in which it was quite clear that certain politicians, TV talk show hosts and their audiences among the country’s ever growing chattering classes, who were quick to attack the Bill, had not even read the document!

Their single cue in this respect was the Pakistan Army’s concerns about certain conditions mentioned in the aid bill, and off they went on a rampage.

This may also suggest that the nature of anti-Americanism one often comes across TV news channels in this country, is primarily the animated vocation of two interlinked entities: i.e., electorally weak religious and conservative parties and certain former military men who felt alienated after the American dollars for the anti-Soviet Afghan insurgency dried up.

Couple these with a string of highly-paid TV anchors and televangelists who are ever willing to sacrifice objectivity to grab the ratings-boost that rabid anti-American rhetoric promises and you get burning, blinding hot air all around.

From a perceived friend to an imagined foe

Let’s try to trace the history and evolution of anti-Americanism in Pakistan. According to a research paper written by Dr Talukder Muniruzaman in 1971 on the politics of young Pakistanis, a majority of Pakistanis viewed America positively and admiringly in the 1950s.

The paper also suggests that right up until Pakistan’s 1965 war with India, most Pakistanis saw America as a friend, especially in the context of the Soviet Union’s close ties with India.

According to another lengthy paper (published by Chicago University in 1983) on the ideological orientation of Pakistan’s university students (by Kiren Aziz and Peter McDonough), anti-Americanism among most Pakistanis remained somewhat low even during the celebrated movement (in 1967-68) against the Ayub Khan dictatorshiop – in spite of the fact that the movement was largely led by leftist students, activists and politicians.

Some leading leftist activists of the movement also suggest that there were precious little incidents in which an American flag was torched. The following is what Badar Hanif, a radical member of the left-wing National Students Federation (NSF) in the late 1960s, wrote in a recent email to me: ‘We were focused. We not only wanted to topple the US-backed Ayub dictatorship, but the whole capitalist system.’

When I wrote back asking him whether the US was a target as well, Badar replied: “Some of us were pro-Soviet and some pro-China Marxists. Yes we were against the US, but more due to the fact that soon after Ayub’s fall, the US and the Pakistan military began aiding and backing Islamic parties like Jamat-i-Islami (JI). The JI offered themselves to them to work as a bulwark against the rising leftist tide in educational institutions and the streets.”

The Kiren Aziz and Peter McDonough paper suggests that anti-Americanism in the 1970s was ripe among many Arab countries due to the United States’ single-minded support for Israel, which finally made its way into Pakistani society during the Z.A. Bhutto regime (1972-77). Especially so when Bhutto started to expand his ‘Islamic Socialism’ doctrine at the international level by striking firm relations with various radical Muslim states and Arab countries.

However, the build-up to this was the otherwise sympathetic Richard Nixon’s administration’s failure to militarily help its sub-continental ally during the 1971 war with India.

Seyyed Vali Nasr in his excellent book, ‘Vanguards of the Islamic Revolution’ writes that the religious parties (especially JI) began attributing the Pakistan Army’s defeat in 1971 to the ‘decadence and debauchery of men like General Yahya Khan’ and due to ‘Pakistanis’ failure to become good Muslims.’ However before that, a large number of Pakistanis began blaming the US because it had ‘failed to help Pakistan in the war.’

In his book ‘Political Dynamics of Sindh 1947-1977’ Tanvir Ahmed Tahir suggests that the post-1971 anti-Americanism in Pakistan was more an occupation of progressive and leftist groups. This is confirmed in Hassan Abbas’ book, ‘Pakistan’s drift into extremism: Allah, the Army and America’s War on Terror’.

This brings us back to the suggestion that I would rather treat as a question: Were the religious parties really being escorted by the US against the perceived threat of a take-over of pro-Soviet forces in Pakistani politics?

Progressive student leaders, activists and politicians of the era would answer in the affirmative. Many of them explain this happening as a consequence of Pakistan religious parties’ strong links with oil-rich Arab monarchies, especially the Saudi Arabia, a country that was a close ally of the US.

Anjum Athar who was associated with the Liberal Students Federation (LSF) at the University of Karachi in 1974-75 once shared with me an interesting observation. He said: “In those days (the ’70s) being socially and politically conservative did not necessarily mean being anti-West. Even the most militant Islamic student groups in the 1970s who wanted the imposition of Shariah were never seen badmouthing the US.”

Athar then added, “The reason behind this was that parties like the JI and IJT and other religious groups were more threatened by the rise of communism, a threat they shared with the US and Saudi Arabia – the two countries that became their main financiers and backers. That is why anti-Americanism was more rampant among Pakistani leftists as compared to the religious parties.”

This trend continued much into the 1980s as well.

In spite of this, America remained Pakistan’s leading aid donor. According to Lubna Rafique’s 1994 paper, ‘Benazir & British Press,’ it was only in the last year of Z.A. Bhutto’s regime (1977), that he started to allude to moving out of the ‘American camp,’ calling the US a ‘white elephant.’ He also went on to accuse the Jimmy Carter administration for financing the religious parties’ agitation against him in 1977.

Throughout the Ziaul Haq dictatorship in the 1980s, anti-Americanism remained a much polarised affair in Pakistan. Most political-religious parties and their supporters, and the industrial/business classes that supported Zia, were either openly pro-America or ambiguous on the subject.

This was due to the fact that Zia was an ‘Islamist’ military dictator who was backed by the Ronald Regan administration with military hardware and dollars during the US proxy war against the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and against ‘communism in the region’. Consequently, anti-Americanism became even more rampant among those opposing Zia.

For example, though anti-Americanism among most PPP workers and the student wing grew two-fold after Z.A. Bhutto’s ‘judicial murder’ at the hands of the Zia dictatorship, the party’s new chairman, Benazir Bhutto, advised her party to concentrate on the removal of Zia alone.

In 1986 when she returned to Pakistan from exile and was greeted by a mammoth crowd in Lahore, groups of PPP’s student wing, the PSF, began torching a US flag at the crowded rally. Benazir is said to have stopped them from doing this, pointing out that they would not be able to fight a superpower if they weren’t even able to remove a local dictator.

Though by the late 1980s the intensity of anti-Americanism had grown in Pakistan (compared to the preceding decades), it never became violent. The only violent case in this respect had taken place in 1979 in Islamabad when the US consulate was attacked by a crowd enraged and provoked by a broadcast from Iranian state radio that had blamed the US for engineering that take-over of the Ka’aba that year by a group of militants.

Though the notorious take-over of the Muslims’ sacred place was masterminded by a band of armed Saudi fanatics, Iran’s new revolutionary regime under Ayatollah Khomeini, used its media to claim that the attack was backed by ‘American and Zionist forces.’

According to Yaroslav Trofimov’s telling tale of the attack on Ka’aba vividly captured in his book,‘The siege of Mecca’, confusion about who planned and executed the attack arose when the Saudi regime blacked out the news.

Anti-US agitation in Pakistan only rolled back when it became clear that the siege was the work of a group of armed Saudi fanatics to whom even the kingdom’s puritanical Wahabi regime wasn’t puritanical enough!

The switch

In the 1990s as America largely divorced itself from the region after the end of the Afghan civil war, anti-Americanism in the country actually receded and Pakistanis got busy tackling the bitter pitfalls of the Afghan war in the shape of bloody ethnic and sectarian strife.

However, this also meant the drying up of American patronage and funds for religious groups and parties in the country.

Anti-Americanism returned to the fore (but with far more intensity) after the tragic 9/11 episode in 2001 and not surprisingly, the religious groups now became its main purveyors.

According to veteran defense analyst, Hassan Askari, this post-Cold-War version of anti-Americanism in the country is an emotional response of most Pakistanis to the confusion that set in after 9/11.

Naushad Amrohvi, a member of the Communist Mazdoor Kissan Party (MKP) in 1972, before leaving for Sweden after the Zia coup said: “Anti-Americanism was more popular with leftist youth before the 1980s. It was more of an intellectual pursuit. We were more into negating the US policies by intellectually attacking capitalism and modern imperialism and for this we read and discussed a lot. We read a lot of Karl Marx, Jean-Paul Sartre, Mao Zedong, Frantz Fanon, Faiz Ahmed Faiz… we even read a lot of Abul Ala Maududi so we could puncture his theories about an Islamic state and tackle the then pro-US Jamat-i-Islami!”

Amrohvi laments the fact that anti-Americanism in Pakistan today has become an excuse to hide one’s own failures: “We wanted to fight America with ideology and politics, and not suicide bombers and naked hatred,” he added.

Columnist Fasi Zaka in one of his columns suggested that the kind of anti-Americanism found these days (among the middle-classes of the country) is extremely ill-informed. He wrote that a lot of young Pakistanis are basing their understanding of international politics by watching low-budget straight-to-video ‘documentaries’ on Youtube!

These so-called documentaries that Zaka is talking about are squarely based on rehashed conspiracy theories that mix age-old anti-Jewish tirades and paranoid fantasies about Zionists, Free Masons and the Illuminati. Locally, all these are then further mixed with flighty myths about certain Muslim leaders, sages and events recorded only in jihadi literature and flimsy ‘history books.’

Thus, the post-9/11 confusion and emotionalism in Pakistan was largely given vent and an ‘intellectual tilt’ by Islamist apologists of all shapes and sizes – among them being those had once been recipients of US funds and patronage during the Cold War.

Whereas there was a prominent streak of individualism and romantic rebellion associated with the anti-Americanism of Pakistani leftists during the Cold War, nothing of the sort can be said about the widespread anti-Americanism found in Pakistan today.

In fact, the present-day phenomenon in this context has become an obligatory part of populist rhetoric in which American involvement is blamed for everything — from terrorist attacks, to the energy crises, to perhaps even the break of dengue fever!

Nadeem F. Paracha is a cultural critic and senior columnist for Dawn Newspaper and Dawn.com.

The views expressed by this blogger and in the following reader comments do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dawn Media Group.

Comments (153) Closed

Prudent Injeeli

Feb 17, 2011 06:21am

Most Pakistanis hate America because they can't get there.

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sahil

Feb 17, 2011 09:53am

if you hate america stop using american google , facebook , planes , coco cola , hollywood movies , mobile , computer.
i wonder you pakistanis cant live in a single without america , i see if pakistanis will be given choice between america green card and heaven they will cose green card .
not sure have a survey about that .
americans have save thousands during pakistan floods with out americans choppers atleast 1000s of pakistanis will be washed away is this not enough
then ask 100000s of pakistan if they want to leave satan america against islamic pakistan i bet if your sister , or daughther is in america even she would not want to come back to pakistan.
are these reason not enough you want more , i would be sort of space to give reason why pakistan should be pro pakistan

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Naeem Malik

Feb 16, 2011 11:32pm

Hi Yawar
I am not stuck in 60's and 70's but I cannot forget it.
Cold War may be over but the new war this millennium is very hot and fought in our streets where some of our citizens get killed by US nationals who are promptly elevated to a diplomatic status.
Similar things happened in Tehran, in Jakarta, Saigon, Santiago and many other places in the last century.
Pakistanis and many others are victims of continued American aggression. It is US aggression that generates anti-American sentiments no matter how they are expressed. Couple of examples, when a few years ago Israel attacked Lebanon and over thousand Lebanese were killed Condolliza Rice, Secretary of state dismissed the deaths as birth pains of a new Middle East, when a previous secretary of state was asked about the first Iraq war and the deaths of Iraqi children she said it was a price worth paying. Why should such statement by our Yankee friends not result in anti-American sentiments among the victims is beyond me.

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anIndian

Feb 17, 2011 06:30am

A very well written article. But is an average Pakistani educated enough to understand it...

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ahmed

Feb 17, 2011 06:31am

i found nothing new in NFPs narrative ....can;t the so admired columnist be a bit more original.
Anti americanism is a fad and transient. it goes high when US applies stick and goes low when US supplies carrots...and this is natural for any living nation..so what happens in Pakistan is not unique to Pakistan or Pakistanis,...this phenomenon is prevalent all over the world...and there is no sin in being anti-american. Americanism has become a capitalist doctrine all over the world, i.e control of vast amount of resources/wealth...whether it is Pakistani agriculture landlords, middle-eastern industrialist or Russian oligarchs...that is why when people in Pakistan are fed up with status quo, they start rejecting one zamindar over the industrialist, and vice versa.

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Syed

Feb 16, 2011 05:06pm

I'm US citizen and that does not mean that I should not critize the oppressive policies of the USA Regime that over a period of more than a century has taken over Great Britain to follow their hegemonistic policy of enslaving other nations. Our wadera group(including industrialist mafias) who are mini masters of their land and in return support mega master that is USA. They scratch each others back. The one who gets oppressed in result is poor Paksitani. Pakistani people need to get rid of habit of accepting oppressors. Thats only goanna happen if we start making decisions by using brains instead of heart and emotions.

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Some Sense

Feb 17, 2011 07:22am

Friend, Indians don't hate Pakistan or Pakistanis: It is the army and politicians who mislead men and women of Pakistan to hate India. In Pakistani school books, children are mentally taught to hate India. When they grow up, naturally they hate India. In India, school books don't teach that Pakistanis are a subhuman species to be hated. That is the difference between Pakistan and India which you will never understand. Where hate is propagated, you get a dysfunctional country. No use blaming the Americans or anyone else.

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Patriot

Feb 16, 2011 04:57pm

US is no saint either. They had always behaved like a master rather than a true ally - the prime reason of anti americanism. We let the Americans do the heavy lifting. Pakistan needs to negotiate some kind of alliance that benefits us more, keeps their troops away from fighting more, shift the emphasis from aid to free trade. Japan, for example, managed to get very favourable trade deals with the US so that for decades Japanese companies had access to American markets while American companies found it much harder to break into Japan. The present system is fairly dysfunctional and if continues to be so, there is not going to be any decline in anti americanism in pakistan, not that its hurting pakistani in anyway at the moment.

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jfernandez

Feb 17, 2011 05:31am

Do not blame others for your ineffectiveness. You are enjoying more than 60 years of being an independent country and what have you done? Look at other Asian countries which had similar circumstances and where are they now as compared to your country? If there is a will, there is a way!

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tk

Feb 17, 2011 09:26am

I disagree with all the Green card/ Deadly Pakistani comments.
There are est. 176 million Pakistanis in Pakistan and not 176 million terrorists.
Most Pakistanis are oridinary people just like every other human on the planet. Pakistani

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Usso

Feb 17, 2011 09:30am

Are You trying tp say tha America is giving fund pakistan without any reaso? can you Answer This Question..How Many American Killed After 9/11? I think its you war We are in....America knows Its pakistan Who can Only Destroy the Tailban/ And Alqaida's Leadership... And for your infomation...Pakistan Lost more...Pakistani.people. then America in their War Against Afghanistan..and its becuz of america we are getting in worse situation.You won't understand this becuz its not ur country who is suffering but pakistan. Ask the Men & women who Lost their families...through Suicide Attack...ask a mother who lost his Only son........i hope you got my point....we are not against America we want america to mind their own business.:)

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ramfromIndia

Feb 17, 2011 10:06am

Lacks the usual punch and clarity of Nadeem...

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shahid

Feb 16, 2011 04:52pm

NFP doesnt know any historical perspective of Pak US relations.
Pakistan is lucky enough due to its geographic location and national Unity problems. US can control nations but Pak is not a nations, which is y it slips away.
But one point that unite us, identify us, motivate us and make us win is ISLAM ISLAM and ISLAM.

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bahram

Feb 17, 2011 09:20am

give me one god reason why we should be pro american policy (i dont have anything against american people) and id give u a hundred reasons to hate american foriegn policy. btw , ur proving to more of an pro american then pro paki... *sigh*

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shaziashaza

Feb 17, 2011 03:56am

In case of Pakistanis the more educated they are, the less sane/with lot less morality and the list goes on.....In my experience less educated middle class families have lot more values than PHDs/ MDs etc even here in the US.

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Aqil Siddiqi

Feb 17, 2011 04:45am

Well said, but do you really believe, this will ever happen in Pakistan????????

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Aqil Siddiqi

Feb 17, 2011 04:41am

Do not blame others for all our problems. We as a nation became weak in every which way. If not for our corrupt politicians, we shouldn't be in this position. Zia's regime is to be blamed for all these Jihadi Mentaliity of today. For so long we have lived in a cubicle of disillusion, and try to make excuses for our short comings. It's time to take some responsibilty, and do something about it. Aqil Siddiqi (Canada)

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Anjum Arshi

Feb 16, 2011 04:44pm

What is the point of this article? Should we or should we not try to become a sovereign nation, having our own identity (which this blogger thinks is old fashioned)?

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mystic

Feb 17, 2011 04:36am

Americans today admit that they propped up Mubarak's regime in Egypt for 30 years. Anyone saying that a few weeks ago would be an anecdote in this NFP rant.

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Goga Nalaik

Feb 17, 2011 09:05am

Dear Nadeem
Thanks for this nice article.
But this time, it did'nt really quinch my thirst ...
Your Fan

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Sajid

Feb 17, 2011 04:26am

As always NFP has come up with some interesting views. I would like to have NFP's views on the following observation:
While its true that Dollar aid dried up for many religious organization in Pakistan after the US left Afghanistan, we should not forget extensive financial support from SA to madassah-cum-militant-cum-political organizations mainly to confront the challenges posed by Islamic revolution in Iran (also a revolution against US hegemony) and to promote a specific Islamic ideology. It is this financial support from SA that we are experiencing a very sharp divide in this country on the basis of sect.

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F Robinson

Feb 17, 2011 04:13am

Pakistanis love US aid, US Green card, US citizenship, US education, US internet, US computer technology, US science and in return they bite the generous US hand that helps them.

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Anjum Arshi

Feb 17, 2011 09:04am

I guess in the same way as hate Islam has become identity of an American? Pakistan's identity is known to the Pakistanis who have some pride left in them, but that is beyond the comprehension of the short-sighted.

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shaziashaza

Feb 17, 2011 03:59am

I like that plan!!!

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jerry

Feb 17, 2011 03:59am

You are absolutely right. He is among the few lone fighters. Most the Pakistani have given up to Mullha and Military

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shaziashaza

Feb 17, 2011 03:57am

Thanks for the advise

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jerry

Feb 17, 2011 03:43am

You are right. Hate america has becoem identity of a pakistani

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khan

Feb 17, 2011 03:02am

well said, but I think to make this happen both india and pakistan have to work together, both these countries have to change the mind set towards each other.

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khan

Feb 17, 2011 03:04am

Well said Ali, It is good to see some one (SMQ) in pakistan govt to take a stand, how ever looking at the prevailing conditions and all the pressure from US I am not sure if Pakistan will with stand this pressure.
One thing to think about is why is US so sensitive about Raymond Davis to the extent that Obama is directly exerting pressure. I think every thing point to the fact that this case is much more than what it actually seems, to the extent that probably Raymond Davis (on behalf of US govt & consulate in Pak) was involved in some thing really sinister that would blow the foundations of the WAR ON TERROR.
The link below is an article that was published in ABC news in USA,
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/ray-davis-shooting-pakistan/story?id=12869411
The details & accusations of Pakistani ISI in this article are chilling, if these accusations are true then Raymond Davis was in fact resposible for making arrangements with Pakistani Taliban to do Terrorism inside Pakistan. The two guys he killed were working for ISI (not directly may be but hired to follow Raymond), and probably has collected some credible evidence which inspired Raymond to act the way he did.
I am not sure why this article and the details inside it didn't make it to the Pakistani Press, but I think this details in the article makes perfect sense.

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Manzoor Qureshi

Feb 17, 2011 03:01am

I agree with you. I have another solution for India, Pakistan and Bengladesh, and possibly
other surrounding states. If all these countries join together as a federation on the pattern
of US where by each state will have her own law, yet it will be one big democratic federation.
Then there will be no Kashmir issue, or Taliban issue or Hindu extremist issue. It will be upto
the people where they want to live.

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Ravi

Feb 17, 2011 02:10am

So what was wrong in those 5 paras factually ?

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Pokerface

Feb 17, 2011 02:07am

How hypocritical is it that although most Pakistanis supposedly "hate" America with a passion, those very same Pakistanis would do anything to get and American Green card or even a Visa. I believe, that the primary reason for the rise anti-Americanism in Pakistan in recent years is due to closeness between the US & India during the same time frame.

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khan

Feb 17, 2011 03:00am

well said, this is what Pakistan exactly needs to do.

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K.RIAZ

Feb 17, 2011 08:22am

What does Yasir mean when he says"We are need a true leader who control all recently circumstance"?
One can dislike Zardari and so do I,but have yet to see such a brilliant politician.Let the system continue and it will eventually cleanse itself.

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Colin

Feb 17, 2011 02:25am

If you hate us so much - why do you keep asking us to give you money?
Personally I think that the US should cut off all foriegn aid to Pakistan and inform your government that if you continue to allow Al Qaeda and the Taliban to use your country as a safe haven to kille Americans - we will consider it to be an act of war.

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Colin

Feb 17, 2011 02:22am

Pakistanis do not want our frinendship or our attention - all they want is for us to give them money. For some reason they seem to think that they are entitles to our money even though they sponsor terrorists who kill Americans.

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jfernandez

Feb 17, 2011 08:06am

Give the same people the 'green card'......then tell if they love the Americans/ US

once mao said America has made all the poor nations its enemy by helping the dictators. in pakistan its inteference is now an open book, how does it is looting it is no secret. take the example of hosni, first it was siding with hosni but later took turn and asked him to accept the people demand and leave the powers. the european media also played biased role at the time of uprising against hosni.

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Hamza

Feb 17, 2011 12:42am

Thanks for your such kind advice.

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Yasir

Feb 17, 2011 06:57am

we are need a true leader who control all recently circumstance

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ali

Feb 17, 2011 12:11am

next is pakistan people have to come on streets to show unity and more hate against Us

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Vince

Feb 16, 2011 11:52pm

If you hate Americans so much, I would think you'd stop trying to move here.
Pakistan is a basket case, corruption so pervasive nothing can be accomplished without bribing someone. How does any foreign government deal with the Pakistani Government then? The U.S. donates more to Pakistan than any other country including your great "friends" Saudi Arabia and China. I for one have been writing my congressman and senators demanding that we stop supporting your country and let you solve your own problems. Good luck with the next flood, earthquake or whatever.

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Nawaz Ansari - USA

Feb 17, 2011 12:03am

A note to Moderator(s)
As a second generation young Pakistani-American I profoundly disagree with the author and wish to refute him by authoring my thoughts in a civil manner, thus I truly desire to get a fair chance by DAWN.COM to exercise my right to the

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Ayasha

Feb 16, 2011 11:51pm

I am an American.
I just read through the comments in response to Mr. Paracha's excellent article and I was left with only one thought.
What a bunch of whiners you people are.
I can only think to say what my Mother would say to me if I constantly blamed others for my life, for my problems, etc. First she would say - "Would you like a little whine with your cheese?" Then she would say,
'Shame on you...'

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Parvez

Feb 16, 2011 10:49pm

No sane person would invest while WOT is going full force in Pakistan. Go back to school and study some economics.

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irfan

Feb 16, 2011 07:53pm

the chains of narration for Quran and Hadith are the same. You can't accept one and reject the other.

Dear Ajmal, the trend you have noted in your comment above is not only unique to Pakistan. According to a survey in 2008, Americans are one of the most hated nation around the glob alongside Israelis.
America itself is a debtor to China but its media outlets never stop spreading hatred against China.
Its not only Pakistan that has benefited from this relationship. America has benefited more than Pakistan has. Pakistan's gains have been monetary but on the other hand American is the only military power left in this world after Russia was brought down with the help of who ? Yes Pakistan.
So don't make it sounds as if Pakistanis are not capable or are as useless as you might suggest.

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Shahid

Feb 16, 2011 09:24pm

would have been much appreciated if before taking on the subject you would have chosen to write on the history of American hooliganism but that is to be expected the least from writers who have lost the Pakistani perspective.

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Sufi

Feb 16, 2011 09:09pm

NFP must not undermine the element of imperialism. Sometimes, his writing suggests to confirm to the Neo-liberalism that is a sad aspect of his critique. Modern days Talibaan, or right wing activist are doing the which leftists did in 60s and 70 in case of combating with imperliasim. Unfortunately. so called left is just analysing on cup of tea.
People must be clear that American Imperialism is bigger evil that Islamic Extremism.

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Ali

Feb 16, 2011 04:29pm

No offence buddy but the only reason India is safe is because look at what has become of their culture. To be honest, India or Pakistan its all the same to me. Im born and raised in Toronto Canada, mother from lahore pakistan, father from Hyderabad India whos never been to pakistan. Therefore i have no bias towards either, having said that, India has progressed at the cost of their culture. Ask people outside Mumbai Delhi Banglore Hyderabad and some other major cities about how they feel with this progressive India. The answer will be, nothing has changed, poverty still exists and has increased in rural areas, corruption is at an all time high, Politicians are corrupt, the country has progressed due to the regression in the west, which is temporary. Today you see Indian movies where their culture has been replaced by Jesus. How many times you see an Indian going into church to ask the lord for something. How many times you see celebrities in India promoting "safe sex". Even majority of Indians will say that their culture is diminishing at the cost of trying to replicate the western world.
Having said that, Pakistan has far bigger problems in terms of government corruption, and now attacks from the terror world. Its the citizens of Pakistan i feel sorry for because they are no different from the people in any other country who want prosperity and success. It sounds like i am defending Pakistan meanwhile they have personal issues. Its not a matter of defending anyone, but i would do the same if some Pakistani was saying things about India which did not go with what actually is the case.

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Tahir Rizvi

Feb 16, 2011 08:43pm

United States of America has been a long term friend of Pakistan. Being a World leader the US has to lead its friendly countries which have mutual conflicts in many cases. America

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Ali

Feb 16, 2011 04:20pm

Who created the taliban? Al-qaeda? These groups had a major hand in taking down Russia as the superpower. Dude, U.S is behind all this, they are playing a dirty game. Its sad because a year from now, they will leave Afghanistan and it will be the Taliban fighting Pakistans Army. There is a huge interest in destabilizing Pakistan. I do not get the hate Indians have for Pakistanis, not every problem in India is caused from Pakistans existence.

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Danish

Feb 16, 2011 07:27pm

Bhai, first try to figure exactly WHAT our identity is. Stop spouting the mantra of the so-called 'ghairat brigade,' all of whom get hefty salaries from their bosses at TV channels. Think coolly and rationally. Thanks.
This article just tries to trace the history of anti-Americanism in Pakistan through reserch papers, books and interviews. It is YOU who has to make up your mind.

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Usman

Feb 16, 2011 04:29pm

True and some of them still stay deadly anti-American even after they get the nationality and live here, use the resources and what not.

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nagu

Feb 16, 2011 07:25pm

Atleast he is fighting...
In terms of society...what u sow u will reap. Before u get an emptional outburst..let me clarify, i am talking about the education system. Most middle aged men comes from schools which was under the shadows of Zia's historic errors.

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Moin Khan

Feb 16, 2011 04:12pm

Absolutely True!!
First Pakistan needs to be at a level to be treated equally with new powers such India and China, which is far away as Islamic radicalization has taken its toll on the psyche of Pakistani youth, converting them into their own impedance!

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malik

Feb 16, 2011 06:54pm

No man they really hate the US from the core of their heart or guts or whatever.

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malik

Feb 16, 2011 06:53pm

No it continues even after he gets to be a citizen. e,g. shehzad faisal.

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Seear

Feb 16, 2011 03:47pm

LOL well said.
Btw, great piece.

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Aamir Ali

Feb 16, 2011 03:50pm

Pakistanis are extremely impressed with the US and want attention and relations with US, however when they don't get the attention they think, thats where the anti-Americanism comes in. I regard Pakistani anti-Americanism as mostly fake.

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Themina

Feb 23, 2011 06:19am

Agreed.

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BRR

Feb 16, 2011 03:44pm

But don't hold your breath waiting for that to happen. No amount of religious training in Madarassas will get you to that point. No amount of rhetoric spewed on TV will educate the masses, just embitter them.

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Tbankara

Feb 16, 2011 03:39pm

I think the best way for Pakistan to show its' disdain for American influence and assert independence would be to refuse all further assistance from the U.S. Do not accept economic or military aid, don't participate in military, governmental or cultural exchange programs, do not spend hard earned dollars traveling to the U.S. Severing these ties will allow Pakistan to be able to take responsibility for its' own destiny and stand as an independent nation. Anything less would be hypocrisy.

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Salman Hasan

Feb 16, 2011 03:27pm

Sarwar, non muslims are treated a lot worse in Pakistan than muslims are in America. So the question to you is, should we still love Pakistan?
KHUDA HAFIZ...

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BRR

Feb 16, 2011 03:12pm

Don't forget, some are deadly even thereafter, just remember the bombers in London and the attempted bombing in New York, and the Pakistanis in California who were apparently "plotting". Hopefully, this is a minority.

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Radhika

Feb 16, 2011 09:36am

I feel sad for Pakistan but the govt. people and militarily are responsible for the problems.
First stop donations or aid from America or China or from any other country for that matter.
2) Improve education and infrastructure.
3) Improve economy. give jobs to millions of unemployed.
4) As for Pakistani people buy lot of your country's goods. If you buy in this way it will create a job for another pakistani in your country. Wherever I go I see to it we buy lot of Indian goods as far as possible so that it could generate income for my country people thereby improving its economy.
5) Improve trade India and China and other neighbouring countries.
6) Discard age old hatredness and enimity towards India . We all need each other during this period of recession .

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Ganesh Prasad

Feb 16, 2011 12:44pm

Sarah said:
> What does he have to say about the time when, Mr. Bush visited the sub-continent and signed multi-billion atomic package with our neighbor India and visited us to play a bat-ball match?
I think a large part of the hurt in Pakistan on this issue relates to unrealistic expectations.

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Wajeeha Asrar Siddiqui

Feb 16, 2011 10:03am

A nice read :)
If we really wants to be free from this 'Amercanism' than we must concentrate to get educate ourselves.

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Sarwar Rasool

Feb 16, 2011 09:47am

nearly 1 million innocent lives lost in IRAQ, & almost the same numbers in Afghanistan, American policy in the middle east, particularly PALESTINE....The way muslims are treated by American..the dual standard of American policy regarding Pakistan & India... & heaps more including the brutal killing of 3 young men in Lahore & the cover-up for Raymond Davis...so the question to you is MR Nadeem Parach sahab sir gee, should we still love America.
ALLAH HAFIZ ...

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Aly

Feb 16, 2011 02:39pm

Its not only Pakistan,but most of the muslim world where america is loathed. Raymond davis is an excellent example of american hypocrisy. Wikileaks cable leaks also show the dark side oe american foreign policies. Pakistan should also realise that geo-politics is undergoing massive change.china has become no.2 economic power and is projected to topple america in about a decade. Pakistan seriously needs overhauling of foreign policy.

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KKNIAZI

Feb 16, 2011 02:27pm

Do you know, UK govt. has just announced 1.1 billion pounds in aid to Indian govt. despite their booming economy.
Did India refuse it?
Cheers,
Kaleem

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KKNIAZI

Feb 16, 2011 02:25pm

Nasser,
And Hadith is not law but guidance.

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Ghazal Ali

Feb 16, 2011 09:28am

NFP is fighting a losing battle. He is expecting reason and pragmatism to triumph in a society where more and more people are losing all will to be reasonable. This is society totally confused and now banking entirely on emotional outbursts.
NFP's a fighter and always has been, but in our society it is hate mongers and hypocrites who are hailed as heroes and not men of intelligence, reason and boldness that use with their pens and not guns.

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R Khan

Feb 16, 2011 09:19am

Nadeem,
I read your article very enthusiastically till the last part (last 5 paras). The research done is impeccable. However, you disappointed greatly not only by hastily finishing the article but also making highly misjudged assumptions. My friend, I am really surprised to learn your lack of information on this subject.
I don

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Nasseer

Feb 16, 2011 12:30pm

I see, but isn't the basis of Islamic laws also based on heresay (hadith)?
What do you have say about that, friend?

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klAntony

Feb 16, 2011 09:17am

Lets face it, "Pakistan need's America more than America needs Pakistan".We read of the drone attacks and American's walking the streets of Pakistan with guns and GPS on them.This speaks volumes the state of Pakistan is in. In spite of all the grand standing and rhetoric its matter of time that the murder accused Mr Davis walks free.

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Sarah

Feb 16, 2011 08:49am

I read the title and immediately guessed it was by NFP.
There are reasons far worse and serious than nfp has mentioned here (energy crisis / dengue?) for anti-American feelings. For some reasons he does not mention anything about the post 911 events, thousand killed in drone attacks, Aafia Siddiqui incident, the way Pakistanis are treated right from the moment they arrive in foreign and recently Raymond Davis case, to name just a few.
What does he have to say about the time when, Mr. Bush visited the sub-continent and signed multi-billion atomic package with our neighbor India and visited us to play a bat-ball match? Does NFP expect Pakistanis to be thankful to his for his

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Ram Krishan Sharma

Feb 16, 2011 08:39am

Dear Pakistani friends,
If you stop borrowing money from USA for food and other expenses and stand on your own feet, you have a point in hating America.

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yawar

Feb 16, 2011 08:27am

Naeem you seem to be stuck in the 1960s and 70s leftist critique of America. Sir, wake up, a new millennium has dawned and the Cold War is over.
Also, NFP is quoting from books, papers and leftist activists from the era you also seem to belong.

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Suhas Kharbanda

Feb 16, 2011 01:31pm

As they say in U.S. - A Pakistani is deadly Anti-American till he gets a Green Card.

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Rakesh

Feb 16, 2011 12:18pm

America is doing what every country does. The international foreign affairs are not based on human values but countries own interest. Neither American are doing any favour by aiding Pakistan not Pakistan doing anything for America by fighting against terrorist.

Pehle Dil Dard Ashna Kijai.
Pakistan should stand on its own two feet first and then indulge in all the emotional US bashing it wants. Beggars cannot be chosers. The irrational hatred of the US is steadily converting Pakistan into uncivilized and intolerant.

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yawar

Feb 16, 2011 08:18am

Epic stuff again, NFP.

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murassa sanaullah

Feb 16, 2011 05:33pm

a great article NFP. the americans are also to be blamed ,so is our leaders, public,and the most our religious parties.

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Naeem Malik

Feb 16, 2011 08:14am

Once again, the article is bereft of any factual analysis. The anti-Americanism is derived from American imperialism whether in Pakistan, the Arab world, Latin America or the rest of Asia. Those of us who are old enough remember the Anti-American sentiments by the youth internationally of the 60s and 70s as a result of what happened in Latin America including Cuba, in Indonesia, in Iran, in Palestine etc.
Today also, US occupies our neighbor , has destroyed Pakistan by forcing the conflict to spill over into Pakistan. US flies drones over Pakistan killing people on a regular basis. Let us remember US threatened to bomb us into stone age. Of course all this is tied with the aid we get from the US including that comes from Kerry Luger bill. Aid is poisoned chalice and we drink from it at our peril.
May be the mulla types do not express their opposition to US rationally. This article also does not express its Pro-Americanism rationally.

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Nasseer

Feb 16, 2011 12:11pm

This overdose of false nationalism coming from some comments here will serve no purpose. It's strange how educated people too so easily fall for the mob mentality.
NFP is like Pervez Hoodbhoy. Challanging people to think outside the rethorical narrative constructed by the media, the mullah and the military. Well done once again, Paracha - even though there are so few like you in this country. I salute your courage.

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Prof Ramesh Manghirmalani

Feb 16, 2011 08:07am

But the world is also today the poorer and sadder for many because Washington so often compromises ideals for stable relations with autocrats. Other people seek what Americans take for granted: political freedoms, civil liberties, material prosperity, the right to keep legitimately acquired property and wealth rather than have these confiscated by government, and accountability of rulers to the rule of law. They are bewildered and embittered when Washington turns its face away from them so as not to antagonize friendly regimes or strategically important allies.
Much of the anti-American sentiment among Arabs arises not because they hate what America stands for but because they aspire to American values and freedoms that have been systematically crushed on the back of U.S. money, arms and training.The gap between the lofty, soaring rhetoric of liberty and freedom in President George W. Bush's second inauguration speech in January 2005 and the reality of his ties to authoritarian regimes was particularly pronounced.President Barack Obama's record has been hardly less duplicitous, with his Cairo speech juxtaposed uneasily alongside reduced support for the freedom agenda in Egypt.

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Prof Ramesh Manghirmalani

Feb 16, 2011 08:04am

Educate People, open the industries make Pakistan economically powerful, give jobs and Pakistan can face America or matter of fact any power.
Good Wishes

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Ali

Feb 16, 2011 08:09am

U totally forgot the pressler amendments..

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Ajmal taqbir

Feb 16, 2011 08:00am

We hate Americans alot, but when we get a chance to go to America, we will never miss it. We hate America, but we are eager to get dollars in donation from America. We hate America in Iraq or in Gaza but we allow them to fly drones on our land and kill innocents.

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anadil

Feb 16, 2011 11:58am

America is not against Islam, its against the Thirld World...America has committed far worst atrocities in Latin America then in Pakistan...noone is defending America here but we Pakistanis need to take responsibility for whats happening in Pakistan esp with respect to Taliban case..

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Balakrisna

Feb 16, 2011 11:54am

Pakistan had been in and out of democracy a number of times from the time of its inception. The successive dictators never had any future vision for Pakistan nor the civilian governments had. Eventually they have pushed the country perpetually backward. The only popularist agenda they had was "Hate India". They have used religion as a tool to continue their rule. In the meanwhile, the neighboring Afghanistan had slipped in to anarchy thanks to the cold war. The Taliban spread its wings from Afghanistan to the bordering Pakistan's most backward region. USA itself while helping Pakistan financially,militarily, never looked for long term goal of social uplift like economic or employment generation, education etc. All these have increased the gap between educated rich elite and uneducated poor people. The so called 'Non state players' have also created a havoc by poisoning the religious extremism. Otherwise how can one expect a killer like Qadri who took law in to his hands was garlanded by the lawyers, same people who are expected to safe guard the constitution of the country? Where are the poets,singers,writers and outstanding hockey and cricket players?

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Lucman Dawood

Feb 16, 2011 11:54am

Wah, why should one's love of his or country be based on the hatred of another country?

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Ramanujam Srinivasan

Feb 16, 2011 07:28am

Nice Article....
I think d animosity against USA will decrease in Pakistan,if they STOP getting aid from them and START developing trade partners across the globe...Receiving Aid from America has tied Pakistan's hands and they cant voice against the drone attacks or in Raymond Davis case...and at d same time,Anti Americanism will rise among the youth for these perceived injustices
A politically and economically stable Pakistan can act autonomously without any pressure from any other country in d world.....
Ram
India

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Lucman Dawood

Feb 16, 2011 11:50am

Top stuff. Right on the money. NFP's the boldest when it comes to taking unpopular stands. While the sheep are all nodding, NFP's wide awake. Kudos to you, sir.

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M.M.Joshi

Feb 16, 2011 01:56pm

Anti Americanism by Pakistanis has a concrete basis. America has spent so much on Pakistan that it thinks that in whatever way it (America) may hurt the sensitivities of Pakistanis (see Anderson's killings), they will never complain.
I have a solution to all this _ forget America, stop enmity towards India and trade with it on equality basis. As soon as the arms race is reduced both countries will profit immensely on economic front. We may be to envious and fighting brothers but after all we are brothers.

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Seear

Feb 16, 2011 01:05pm

Lagta hai, two two were very imprressed today by Qureshi's speech.

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Sarah

Feb 16, 2011 10:59am

haha, I went thru all the 'trouble' despite guessing it right that who the author was :D

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Sarah

Feb 16, 2011 11:02am

Yes, one has to admit how well India has emerged with time, China is another great example : )

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adil

Feb 16, 2011 01:44pm

Great article - except no one is listening in Pakistan.

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Anjum Arshi

Feb 16, 2011 10:51am

hearsay can hardly be called research

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Jehanzeb Idrees

Feb 16, 2011 01:04pm

The problem is that the liberals or the liberal elite (liberals are almost always elite) of the Muslim world in general and our country in particular, almost completely borrowed its analysis from the western discourse of the Muslim world. Sadly, people like NFPs, Farzana Baris, Hoodbhoys etc. are among such sorry lot. If they think that all else is being churned out by conspiracy theorists then they too try to sideline everything as 'rhetoric' for the convenience of their own arguments, they are a classic case of ostrich mentality. So the Muslim world is striving between these two extremes, on one end there're such liberal ostriches and on the other end there are Zaid Hamids. There are realities and reasons, that cannot be overlooked, the widespread anti-Americanism in a once American friendly nation is for a reason, its very unreasonable to put everything slolely on the mullah, media and military because this troika even today is very much in arms with USA, add politicians to it and you have a perfect recipe for almost all the miseries that Pakistan finds itself in today -

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nadiyah rahman

Feb 16, 2011 10:45am

Oh, I forgot to read the author's name at the top and as I read on I felt something which clicked in place when I saw NFP's face at the end, lol! Thanks for your lovely picture NFP, you saved me the trouble of reading the stuff you always come up with :p

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Asif

Feb 16, 2011 12:57pm

Pakistani elite, including agricultural land owners, exporters and big business people, should start paying taxes. Then we would not need aid any more. And then more people will also want to hold the govt accountable for the taxes that they pay. Currently there is no tax on exporters. Big landlords get away with paying the paltry land tax of Rs. 300 per acre instead of paying tax on their agricultural income as they should, due to a loophole in the 1997 tax that they can pay the land tax or income tax whichever is greater and they all declare no income. And we all know about the 'leakages' in the income tax system besides the corruption in customs and even zakat and ushr depts.
That is how the tax to GDP ratio of Pakistan can go up from a dismal 10% to perhaps at least 15%. Then we would not have to beg for aid and spend more money on development and health and education. In fact to actually close the tax to spending gap the tax to GDP ratio has to rise to 20% as that is our spending / budget.

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AHK

Feb 17, 2011 11:50am

@Sahil: What does using google, facebook, planes have to do with being pro or anti American?
Talk some sense.

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Umer Farooq Baloch

Feb 17, 2011 12:09pm

Brother from this article, you have actually made me rethink on the principle stand I had on this particular issue. Thanks

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Rajiv

Feb 17, 2011 12:12pm

Example of Hosni proves that if people have the intelligence to make right choice... even superpower has to support it...

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SB

Feb 24, 2011 01:52am

hope one day you will read him objectively without the arrogance

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sal

Feb 18, 2011 10:39am

Yes, you rightly point out some examples why America has been wrongly blamed

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KD

Feb 17, 2011 03:41pm

If USA declares lottery of Visa to migrate to USA when such demonstration against USA is in process, 90% of all demonstrators would quit their march and line up in front of US embassy!!!

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The Right Left

Feb 17, 2011 03:56pm

An excellent idea. However, it will have to come from the people demanding this. Second and third grade politicians which make up the bulk of the govenrments in these countries will resisit it. So will the preachers. It will put them out of their jobs.

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khurram

Feb 17, 2011 09:32pm

You make no sense my friend.you are mixing up two entirely different things..I work for an american based company while i live here in pakistan.even american people agree that they are not happy with the way usa govt is doing in other country affairs.

I hope that happens soon. I'll be the first one to thank the Almighty.

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Mohammed Hassanali

Feb 17, 2011 11:22pm

Thankyou

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Mohammed Hassanali

Feb 17, 2011 11:28pm

You have perfectly expressed my thinking. Thankyou

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Mohammed Hassanali

Feb 17, 2011 11:35pm

Fully agree.

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Mohammed Hassanali

Feb 17, 2011 11:49pm

Stop taking aid for example?

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Zal

Feb 18, 2011 01:05am

people will go to USA because this is the richest country. People think of food before politics.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 01:57am

Really ! Like Amy Powell would say on Saturday Live.
I did not understand this US infatuation with Pakistan. Do you?
Alternately are they stupid or what Mr Robinson. Think about it.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 01:59am

Life is much more complicated my friend, dont' kid yourself.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:01am

I think Pakistan has done very well. See you in the World Cup Cricket.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:10am

Why should we show our disdain to the World's only Superpower are we stupid or what? Severing ties another weak suggestion. I think we are doing fine. We should continue our close relationship with America and take every possible benefit more a more technological advanced country.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:24am

Really do you think that's what "most Pakistanis" think.
Sir, people have a life to live and a thousand mundane things to keep them busy.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:26am

No we don't hate America or any other nation. But we will reciprocate in kind.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:27am

So don't give them the money. Is that simple. Dah.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:37am

Agree. Sir, you are indeed blessed with good judgement.

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Tariq K Sami

Feb 18, 2011 02:39am

Have you heard of Noam Chomsky.

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Paul

Feb 18, 2011 02:42am

Beautiful and simple solution to a waxing problem. India , Bangldes and Pakistan could be envy of the world.
Let it called the United States of South Asian Continent.

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sf

Feb 18, 2011 03:01am

There is a saying. yakee go home, yankee go home and take me with you.
Pakistan is almost a failed state, I say almost and not a failed state only because of American support and help. Come on Pakistanis, stop living in a dream world, get real, you dont want uneducated mullahs to rule you and get Pkistan backward to the 7th century. I said uneducated but what about those Pakistanis who are educated like Lawyers who glorified a killer. These lawyers will be our future judges and leaders. its a shame, what has become of ebucation in Pakistan. These lawyers probably were educated in maddrassas. Stop complaining and hating.
Regarding Davis he was being followed by 2 thieves who wanted to either rob or kill him and in self defence he shot them. Not too long ago my cousin shot and killed 2 robbers who were breaking into neighbor's house. He was rewarded, what an unjust and double standard,

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Discreet

Feb 18, 2011 03:48am

I think the Indians hate Pakistanis as much as "look down" on them esp. after the mumbai attacks and the lack of follow up thereon. You can go through the school texts of India and Pakistan and analyze where the hate is being sown. As for who created Taliban, Al qaeda ? Sure US had ulterior motive in radicalizing the region which is what Paracha says. But radicals also had a motive in playing by the US propoganda. Hence, it is imp. to take some responsibility once in a while. To use your analogy, not every problem in Pakistan is due to US and India. There is some rotting from within.

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Zahid Khan

Feb 18, 2011 07:24am

Pakistan lives on US dollars ONLY. The day US decides to unplug this 'charity' Pakistan will starve to death in less than 12 months. No other country or IMF or World bank, etc. will help either. ( Not even the BEST friend called China, it had never done it any away). It is that simple. You can keep on debating, but the reality doesent change. Why waste time and energy on this issue when Pakistan just cant stand on its own feet even after 61 years!! Period.

Pakistan is given the US aid cz US wants to fight against Afghanistan using OUR borders!!! n btw the paki govt needs aid fo their personal use instead of for the whole nation!!..US can stop giving us aid n take their army back fm our borders n after this should stop interfering in other countrys personal n internal issues!

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ASA

Feb 18, 2011 11:42pm

"Regarding Davis he was being followed by 2 thieves who wanted to either rob or kill him and in self defence he shot them"
Yes shotm them in the back from 5o- feet away.
Exactly what drug was he taking when he felt thretened by two men running away from him or is murderous paranoia a normal condiion of an American?

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Shigri

Feb 19, 2011 06:10am

Nadeem's this article seems (unusually) to have lack of understanding of the phenomenon despite having a time-lined literature from the past!
I am a fan of Nadeem though but this looks somewhat ordinary than what we expect of him.
Cheers!

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ravi - usa

Feb 19, 2011 07:25pm

Pakistanis are busy being anti-India, anti-USA, anti -Afghanistan, anti-Iran... They should focus being pro-Pakistan first and building Pakistan for a better tomorrow, and everything will fall in place for a brighter and better Pakistan

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Nawaz Ansari - USA

Feb 20, 2011 07:30am

Colin
You seem to remember the money that was given to Pakistan yet you completely seem to negate the fact that Pakistan has been doing all the dirty work for the US for at least past four decades.
The turf is ours SIR; we are the victims here that certainly deem you the tormentor and the oppressor. We are the defenders here, yet you are the repeat offender. There is NO

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H.A

Feb 20, 2011 09:43am

Pakistanis can blame their leaders all they want but pakistanis themselves will have to change first. There seems to be no sense of brotherhood left in the common Pakistani man who wants to work together with his fellow man to make Pakistan a better place to live for himself and his future generations. Only the Mullah's seem united at this point and do Pakistani's really want to live under uneducated, hypocritical people?

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Sunil

Feb 23, 2011 02:31pm

Kindly define the "win" that Pakistan had recently?

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Suhas Kharbanda

Feb 20, 2011 05:11pm

The Pakistanis I have met are very pro-Pakistani and very proud of being Pakistani. But I cant understand what exactly they are they proud of ?

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talha

Feb 23, 2011 01:10am

as usual paracha sahab has shown how deeply lost he truly is in his own little 'intellectual' hole. i hadnt read who the author of the article was but as i was skimming through, i guessed it must be our old friend mr. paracha. Who else can be so blind to the ultimate realities?

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Hashmat

Feb 20, 2011 07:24pm

Nawaz you have summarized the actual situation indeed very well & majority of educated Pakistani's will tend to agree with your assessment. If USA leaves the region & stops interferring in Pakistan's internal affairs, then this should definately bring an end to most of the ongoing issues in Pakistan.

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Hashmat

Feb 20, 2011 07:32pm

Yes you are right Ayasha, we should not blame the current problems (terrorism etc) on USA but we should prove them instead, like the current case of Raymond Davis where there is compelling evidence that he on behalf of USA is involved in Terrorist activities in Pakistan. But the dilema is that the current corrupt leadership of Pakistan who simply can't take the stand because they have too much of their personal interest at stake.

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Salman Hasan

Feb 20, 2011 08:33pm

I completely agree with jfernandez. As a Pakistani I still believe that no outside powers can change any nation's destiny. The problem with Pakistan is that we have not yet become a nation. We are four different entities or tribes who only care for their own self-interests. Until these tribes become one nation, indivisible, united and honest, nothing will happen in Pakistan. Powerful bureacrats, landlords, generals, politicians will continue to rob this country by using democracy, Islam and ethnicity. We need moderate, educated, liberal people to rise up and come out on the street like Egyptians did few weeks ago and remind these ruling elite that 170 million plus people cannot take this crap from them anymore and force them to install reforms or they will be thrown out of offices.

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y.r

Feb 21, 2011 12:24pm

If so, then my Pakistani brothers and sisters are certainly mixing their lemons with Lennin.

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Yavr

Feb 21, 2011 09:44am

Sir, you have summed it all in one paragraph. where as Mr. Paracha clearly bypassed it, I think he is himsef a victim of low-budget straight-to-video

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Grim

Feb 23, 2011 02:46am

Sometime I think NFP is the only one that gets it in Pakistan. For those Pakistanis that are crying about US involvement in their country, it probably has something to do with UBL still chilling out in the tribal areas. Wake up Pakistan!!! Your problems are caused internally. How many Indians have strapped bombs to their chest and taken out innocent people over the past few years? Hmmm... all the suicide bombers killing Pakistanis are Pakistani. As far as US aide is concerned, we certainly have not gotten our monies worth to say the least.
Grim